Today’s News 24th February 2024

• Alexei Navalny's Death And Curious Well-Timed Coincidences
  Alexei Navalny’s Death And Curious Well-Timed Coincidences

  Authored by Edward Curtin via Off-Guardian.org,

  There is propaganda by commission and propaganda by omission, the former often serve to conceal the latter. Timing is crucial.

  

  That the U.S. President Joseph Biden, his British, NATO, Israeli allies, and their corporate media mouthpieces are in need of a major propaganda victory is obvious. They are losing the war in Ukraine, have been condemned throughout the world for the genocide in Gaza, and are ruling over a disintegrating empire. Biden and Netanyahu’s political lives are at serious risk. And so they have just rolled out a full-court propaganda press effort aimed at covering their losses. It should be crystal clear to anyone who can use logic to see the timing involved.

  The great French scholar of propaganda and technology, Jacques Ellul, wrote years ago that propaganda “is not the touch of a magic wand. It is based on slow constant impregnation. It creates convictions and compliance through imperceptible influences that are effective only by continuous repetition.”

  However, once this groundwork has been laid over time – as it has been with the continuous anti-Russia Putin hysteria and support for Israel’s Zionist policies – it can be intensely ratcheted up in exigent circumstances when the long-serving narrative is in jeopardy, such as it is now.

  Once the death in a Russian prison of the Western backed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was announced on Friday, February 16, 2024, it was immediately followed by a cascade of anti-Russia pronouncements whose aim was to not only continue the demonization of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin but to serve other purposes as well.

  With one fell stroke, the calm history lesson about Ukraine, Russia, and U.S./NATO that Putin had just delivered to the world via Tucker Carlson disappeared down the memory hole, as Biden, without any evidence, declared that “Putin and his thugs” and Putin’s “brutality” are responsible for Navalny’s death.

  This, of course, is a replay of the false charges sans evidence waged against Russia for an earlier poisoning of Navalny, the Skripals (since disappeared by the British government), Alexander Litvinenko, et al.

  Shortly after, Zelensky, performing his puppet routine while coincidently appearing at the Munich Security Conference – on Saturday, February 17, a day after Navalny’s death was announced – with Navalny’s then widow, said it was “obvious” that Putin had killed Navalny, while Biden pushed for more money for Ukraine’s doomed war against Russia, a U.S./NATO war created by the U.S. from the start with its aggressive military push to Russia’s borders and its 2015 Ukrainian coup d’état that ousted the pro-Russian leader, setting the stage for Russia’s incursion into Ukraine in February 2022. That Putin told Carlson these obvious facts, while slyly mentioning to Carlson that he understood that Carlson once tried to join the CIA, is now for most people in the West history lost behind the headlines, if it ever were anything more.

  All this happened while Russia pushed through Ukraine’s defenses and took the city of Avdeevka, which had long been contested. With each day that passes, it is obvious that Biden’s Ukraine war strategy is that of a desperate politician on the ropes and that Putin has completely outfoxed the American desperados and their NATO European stooges. The MSM prefer to suggest otherwise, that hope is just around the corner if we send billions more dollars and weapons, and if with the help of our British friends, we take the war further into Russian territory and risk a nuclear confrontation. But we are in a propaganda war for the minds of the Western public.

  Much of the rest of the world has seen through the risible MSM headlines used to delude the public that Russia is the great threat to world peace and stability. Like the previous Russia-gate lies, this ongoing one, coinciding with Navalny’s death, is timed to divert the public’s attention from key ongoing matters.

  Tomorrow and Wednesday, Julian Assange will have his final appeal in a British court to prevent his extradition to the United States. Biden wants this journalist prosecuted for doing the job that the MSM have failed to do: Exposing the facts about the ruthless U.S. killing machine. But the bruhaha about Navalny has rendered the absolute hypocrisy over the torture and imprisonment of the innocent and brave Assange secondary and “inconsequential.” As intended, this has now become an afterthought as the mainstream media’s Russia-obsessed headlines flow uninterruptedly. The New York Times, the key propaganda organ for the Biden administration and the deep-state, reports just today that “The gravity of President Putin’s threats is now dawning on Europe” and “Navalny’s Widow Promises to Carry on Opposition Leader’s Work.”  These are typical Times’ rants.  As is its Magazine article headline from yesterday “Marilyn Robinson [the writer and friend of Barack Obama] Considers Biden a Gift of God.”

  I don’t think the Palestinians would agree, but then too, their slaughter by Israel with U.S. assistance – more than 29,000 Palestinians in Gaza alone have been killed so far – and the coming IDF invasion of Rafah, have also been pushed to the back pages or to nowhere by the propaganda about Navalny and Russia.

  I won’t mention the Russian election in mid-March that might possibly factor into all this since we all will be dutifully and timely told that the evil killer Putin is a dictator, ignorant, ruthless – add your own adjectives – and is no doubt trying to rig the fair-and-square U.S. November presidential election – for someone, just as he did in 2016.

  Nor mention The NY Times article of February 17 by David Sanger and Julian Barnes that the “U.S Fears Russia Might Put a Nuclear Weapon in Space.”

  Everyone knows that the Russians are coming to get us, as they always have. They probably killed JFK, right?

  It’s easy to follow along as this propaganda eruption circles the Internet like painted ponies on a carousel. There will be no time to stop and think, to pause; to ask what the hell is going on? The ponies will dip and bob and make you dizzy.

  For more corroboration of these matters, read the political analyst Gilbert Doctorow’s astute piece on how the Turkish broadcaster TRT World refused to post the interview that they did with him. Doctorow claims British intelligence killed Navalny. For some reason this should not be broached, according to TRT.

  Whether Doctorow is right or not, only a very dimwitted person would think that Putin would have Navalny killed. He has nothing to gain and everything to lose by doing so. Yet the MSM and their government overlords consider most people very stupid and so are trying to blitz them with obvious propaganda through commission and omission.

  We have heard this story before.

  *  *  *

  Edward Curtin is an independent writer whose work has appeared widely over many years. His website is edwardcurtin.com and his new book is Seeking Truth in a Country of Lies.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 23:25

• Who's Behind Cyber Attacks?
  Who’s Behind Cyber Attacks?

  The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), alongside the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has issued a warning about potential cyber threats posed by Chinese state-sponsored actors targeting critical infrastructure in the United States.

  The warning follows recent incidents involving a group known as Volt Typhoon, which also goes by names such as Vanguard Panda and BRONZE SILHOUETTE, and is believed to have breached the IT environments of multiple critical infrastructure organizations in the U.S., including in Communications, Energy, Transportation Systems, and Water and Wastewater Systems sectors. According to the advisory, these malicious actors are actively attempting to infiltrate U.S. networks and are potentially paving the way for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks.

  Between 2000 and 2023, the European Repository of Cyber Incidents (EuRepoC) database recorded a total of 2,506 politically motivated cyber attacks worldwide, perpetrated by 679 known actors/groups. These cyber incidents include politicized and non-politicized attacks aimed at political targets, as well as attacks against critical infrastructure, whether carried out by states (and affiliated groups) or by non-state actors with political objectives.

  As Statista’s Anna Fleck details in the following infographic, almost 12 percent of politically-motivated cyberattacks detected since the turn of the century were launched from China, followed by Russia with a similar share (11.6 percent).

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Iran was responsible for 5.3 percent of these cyber incidents over the period studied, and North Korea for 4.7 percent. It’s important to note here that most malicious acts of this type (45 percent) were unattributed, meaning that the country of origin could not be identified in many cases.

  Almost a third of the politically-motivated cyber attacks analyzed were carried out by states (or affiliated groups), and a similar proportion by non-state actors with political objectives. Around half of the attacks recorded were aimed at political targets (public figures, political parties, etc.), and almost 20 percent at critical infrastructures.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 23:00

• Immunosuppression Prevalence Doubled, Linked To Medication Use And COVID: Experts
  Immunosuppression Prevalence Doubled, Linked To Medication Use And COVID: Experts

  Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Between 2013 and 2021, rates of immunosuppression in adults have doubled, according to estimates from a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) research letter.

  

   

  In 2021, an estimated 6.6 percent of U.S. adults were immunosuppressed. “This rate of immunosuppression was higher than the previous national estimate of 2.7 percent using the 2013 [National Health Interview Survey],” the authors wrote in their paper.

  The researchers estimated immunosuppression prevalence by analyzing National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) results.

  Specifically, the authors analyzed responses to five questions. Over 29,000 individuals were asked if they had a health condition or were taking medication or treatments that would weaken their immune system. They were also asked if they had cancer or malignancy, the type of cancer, and their age at the time of cancer diagnosis.

  In 2013, over 34,000 people were interviewed, garnering a response from 75 percent of households. In 2021, only about half of the households contacted responded to the survey.

  Why the Rise in Immunosuppression?

  “Given the documented increase in immunosuppression, studies are needed to understand the causes for this increase,” the authors wrote. However, they mentioned that the rise in self-reported immunosuppression may be due to increased use of immunosuppressive medications.

  The use of adalimumab, a drug used to treat autoimmune conditions, has increased 3.5-fold between 2014 and 2021.

  Immunosuppression carries significant risks, “including an increased susceptibility to infections, potential organ rejection, side effects of immunosuppressant drugs, elevated cancer risk, and pregnancy-related concerns,” Mohammad Razzaque, professor of pathology at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, told The Epoch Times.

  Immunosuppression occurs naturally with age, but it can also occur due to the individual being on various immunosuppressive therapies. People undergoing such therapies include organ transplant patients and those with autoimmune diseases or cancer.

  Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine and preventative medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, reasoned that the rising prevalence could signify progress in science and health.

  “There are more and more people being kept alive and are being treated with immunosuppressant agents in the United States, and that treatment is extending life, which means that the proportion of the population that is immunosuppressed is increasing,” Dr. Schaffner said.

  Crude data from NHIS have also shown a rise in self-reported rates of cancer. According to 2015 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics, 8.7 percent of adults reported cancer. In 2021, it was estimated that 9.8 percent of adults had cancer.

  NHIS’ most recent survey in 2022 estimated that a slight decrease of 9.6 percent of adults had cancer.

  The COVID-19 pandemic may have also made individuals more aware of their immune health and whether they are immunosuppressed, the research letter authors added.

  COVID-19 and Immunosuppression

  Studies have shown that the COVID-19 virus can disrupt the function and order of the immune system, leading to immune dysfunction and possible immunodeficiency.

  One 2o23 study published in Nature Reviews Rheumatology found that people with a COVID-19 infection are at a greater risk of developing autoimmune diseases, which may be linked to potential immunodeficiencies.

  The COVID-19 pandemic may have been particularly challenging to those already immunocompromised.

  Immunocompromised people tend to have an increased disease severity if they become infected with COVID-19, and the vaccine appears to be less effective for them. Public health measures put in place during the pandemic may also have created obstacles for these people to access health care and therapies for their immunosuppression, said Mr. Razzaque.

  Other researchers and physicians argue that the COVID-19 vaccines may also contribute to immunosuppression and deficiencies, though some research has opposite findings.

  Research from Cleveland Clinic suggests that repeated boosting of COVID-19 vaccinations has been shown to put a person at risk of future COVID-19 infections. Another letter to the editor from Columbia University authors published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that people with higher vaccine antibody levels after vaccination were more strongly associated with breakthrough infections.

  Most recently, an Australian review suggested that repeat COVID-19 vaccine boosting in immunocompromised individuals may impair immune activation within this population, possibly making them more vulnerable to infections and cancers.

  In a research paper, Mr. Razzaque pointed to increased influenza infections reported in people who receive repeat influenza vaccinations, speculating if frequent boosting may be linked to immunosuppression.

  Dr. Schaffner said whether increased infections linked to repeat vaccinations are a sign of general immunosuppression is debatable.

  “It’s a very debatable issue,” he said, adding that even if there is an increased risk of COVID-19 infection linked to repeat vaccination, there does not seem to be “serious evidence” indicating a “general suppression of the immune system.”

  However, works by Nordic researchers Drs. Peter Aaby and Christine Stabell Benn suggest that non-live vaccines, including COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, tend to make the immune system “lazy” and less equipped to fight an infection. In contrast, live vaccines train the immune system to become better fighters.

  Gastroenterologist and CEO of ProgenaBiome, Dr. Sabine Hazan, has said that the COVID-19 vaccine may cause immunosuppression by reducing good Bifidobacteria in the gut. She showed that after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination, Bifidobacteria levels dropped by half among her trial participants.

  Bifidobacteria are essential for boosting intestinal immunity. Dr. Hazan’s earlier work showed that people with reduced Bifidobacteria in the gut were at risk of severe COVID-19 infections, and therapeutics that replenished the Bifidobacteria, such as vitamins C and D and ivermectin improved patient survival rates.

  “The pandemic appears to have influenced what the public thinks about their immune system. There has been a big jump in perceived weakness in the immune system. More research is needed to determine if either SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccine indeed has impaired human immunity according to these perceptions,” Dr. Peter McCullough, renowned cardiologist and internist, told The Epoch Times.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 22:35

• These Are The World's Oldest Populations
  These Are The World’s Oldest Populations

  Following the UN’s commemoration of World Day of Social Justice on February 20, Statista’s Felix Richter takes a look at one of the key challenges the world is facing in the coming decades: the gradual and largely irreversible shift towards an older population. According to the United Nations Population Division, the number of persons aged 65 and older is expected to double over the next three decades, reaching 1.6 billion in 2050.

  As the following chart shows, Asia is at the forefront of this trend, with Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan expected to have the highest share of people aged 65 and older by 2050.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  While Japan is famous for its old population and currently topping the list, other Asian economies are in the middle of a significant shift, as life expectancy has rapidly improved over the last decades and continues to do so.

  By 2050, roughly 40 percent of the populations of Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan are expected to be 65 and older, which makes a huge difference to levels currently observed in highly developed regions, where the share of older people is in the low 20s.

  “Population ageing is a defining global trend of our time,” the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs writes in its World Social Report 2023, calling it a “major success story” that brings both challenges and opportunities.

  One of the main challenges for countries with ageing populations is to ensure that the economy can support the consumption needs of a growing number of older people, be it by raising the legal retirement age, removing barriers to voluntary labor force participation of older people or by ensuring equitable access to education, health care and working opportunities throughout the lifespan, which can help to boost economic security at older ages.

  Especially countries in the early stages of the demographic shift have the opportunity to plan ahead and implement the right measures ahead of time, to effectively manage the challenges that come with an ageing population… like mass depopulation?

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 22:10

• Misinformation Researcher Sander Van Der Linden Caught Lying, Spreading Misinformation
  Misinformation Researcher Sander Van Der Linden Caught Lying, Spreading Misinformation

  Authored by Paul D. Thacker via The Disinformation Chronicle (subscribe here),

  Sander van der Linden’s webpage at Cambridge University says he is an esteemed academic, with prior positions at Princeton and Yale, and has published studies on social influence misinformation, and fake news that place him among the top 1% of all social researchers and the top 2% across all of science.

  

  Pretty much every major media outlet—the New York Times, BBC, CNN, The Economist, NPR, the Washington Post and NBC Nightly News—has interviewed van der Linden about his research, while his book “FOOLPROOF: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity” received wide praise.

  But a month back, he climbed down from his lofty academic perch and picked a fight on X with writer Nate Silver and … Professor van der Linden got crushed: exposed as a liar and a quack who spreads misinformation while editing his personal Wikipedia page for the last decade through various single purpose accounts (SPAs) or sock puppets, to burnish his credentials and promote himself and his research.

  “We are still getting numerous SPAs on this topic,” one Wikipedia editors noted about Sander van der Linden’s biography. “Nothing has changed, except they’ve gotten better at not getting caught.”

  

  Examined in detail, the van der Linden episode highlights growing evidence that “misinformation research” is just politics dressed up in academic garb to suppress and censor dissent on controversial topics.

  The kerfuffle kicked off a few weeks back when Sander van der Linden whipped up a brawl on X with Nate Silver, perhaps because Silver has 3.3 million followers and van der Linden has around 15K and was hoping to attract some attention to himself. Days after the spat began, van der Linden was exposed for having edited Wikipedia pages to promote himself and his research. But more on that later.

  In the first round, van der Linden promoted an article from years back, calling the possibility of a lab accident a racist conspiracy theory. Virologists and disinformation “experts” promoted this line for years, until too much evidence squirted out showing that it never made sense. Plus, why is it “racist” to say the pandemic started in a Chinese lab and not in a Chinese market that sells wild animals?

  It’s a narrative that never made any sense and was obviously designed to shut down discussion by labeling people “racist.”

  “Misinformation has become a completely incoherent concept,” Silver wrote. “A game of ‘I’m rubber, you’re glue.’”

  

  Oh, but it goes on.

  Van der Linden then argued there was a “consensus” that the pandemic started naturally, as opposed to a “conspiracy” that it began in a lab. Again, this highlights how much of disinformation “research” is slapping labels on ideas for reasons that are never really explained. It’s rhetorical magic.

  And van der Linden ignores bounties of evidence that virologists ran a propaganda campaign to shout down anyone asking questions about a lab accident by planting papers in The Lancet, Emerging Microbes & Infections, and Nature Medicine.

  “The ‘broad’ definition of misinformation is incoherent,” Silver noted. “What is signifies now is an effort to suppress dissent and launder partisan opinions into a false consensus on matters of legitimate controversy. It’s a cynical enterprise, aimed at the gullible.”

  

  Van der Linden then doubled down with the “this is all a racism” argument.

  “Half the reason Team Misinformation people bug me,” Silver responded, “Is because it’s just so obvious what they’re doing, taking genuinely contentious discussions and stigmatizing the positions that don’t match their politics with the thinnest imaginable reeds of expert authority.”

  

  Oh, but it continued … for several days. (This guy needs attention, no?)

  Van der Linden then put out a tweet to drag others into the fight, including Peter Hotez, who was caught funding gain-of-function studies in Wuhan, researcher Angela Rasmussen, and Arizona’s Michael Worobey, whose research on the pandemic’s origin has been noted for “careless and unprofessional handling of statistical methodology.”

  

  At this point, it became pretty clear that van der Linden was trolling Silver to bring attention to himself—and he got that attention.

  Digging through van der Linden’s Wikipedia page, the X account @triplebankshot noted that Wiki editors had caught van der Linden editing his page for the last decade through various sock puppets to create a suite of promotional material.

  “This guy is a complete fraud / pathological liar. He’s been repeatedly banned from Wikipedia over the last 10+ years for using an army of sockpuppets to create articles about himself with self-promotional material.”

  

  In the talk section of Sander van der Linden’s Wikipedia page, editors discussed how various purportedly unrelated accounts kept adding entries to promote Sander van der Linden, his research, and his book. Here’s some of their findings:

  • In 2019, two weeks before this paper was published, Whatdoyouknowanyway created an article about the journal it was published in.

  • In July 2020 Meerkat2020 created Bad_News_(video_game) – their only contribution. That contained screenshots which have since been deleted on commons that were originally uploaded by Tony_gladstone1 who was blocked as part of the SPI.

  • In September 2020 Jibberjabber20 made various unsourced changes to the biography which wouldn’t have been known publicly.

  • In late 2020/early 2021, Youshallnotpass001 made two major edits to the biography [18] [19] which created a substantial section on their research contributions. They also argued against merging Gateway belief model (which had been redirected to the biography in 2018).

  • In February this year, AntiMusk added promotional information about his newly-published Foolproof book and also removed information which would not have been known to the casual independent observer (director of studies in psychological and behavioural sciences…)

  • In May this year, Booklover 2023 created Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity with their first edit after being auto-confirmed. It contains a glowing biography of van der Linden and they also uploaded a high-resolution (1500 x 2300) version of the book cover which is not present in the source that they linked to, nor am I able to find it through reverse image searches. They were explicitly asked whether they had a COI by Jimfbleak and stated There is no conflict of interest. (Note that they refer to Against Empathy in that same post, which AntiMuskalso edited).

  The editors concluded that these accounts were being generated just to promote Sander van der Linden, meaning van der Linden was orchestrating these accounts to craft propaganda about himself.

  Some final thoughts from Silver about the whole Sander van der Linden episode and the silly academic discipline of “misinformation research.”

  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 21:45

• GM-Owned Cruise's Robotaxis Plan "Relaunch" After Nationwide Suspension
  GM-Owned Cruise’s Robotaxis Plan “Relaunch” After Nationwide Suspension

  General Motors Co.’s Cruise autonomous driving unit is preparing to resume robotaxi testing with safety drivers in Houston and Dallas metro areas in the coming weeks, following the nationwide grounding after one of its robotaxis ran over a pedestrian in San Francisco in October, according to Bloomberg News. 

  People familiar with the conversations say Cruise executives and officials in several metro areas, including the two Texas cities, are discussing the return of the robotaxi with safety drivers on public roads. Before the accident last year, the company had hundreds of robotaxi operating across San Fran, Austin, Houston, and Phoenix. 

  “We have not set a timeline for deployment,” Cruise spokesman Pat Morrissey wrote in a statement. 

  Morrissey continued: “Our goal is to relaunch in one city with manually driven vehicles and supervised testing as soon as possible once we have taken steps to rebuild trust with regulators and the public. We are in the process of meeting with officials in select markets to gather information, share updates and rebuild trust.”

  Cruise’s collapse in public trust came last October when one of its robotaxi dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco. 

  

  This sparked claims by regulators that Cruise execs withheld key footage and details about the incident.

  

  And the fallout resulted in California pulling Cruise’s license to operate the taxis. The company also fired top executives and laid off 25% of its workforce. A new chief safety officer was recently brought on board. 

  The people added Cruise’s decision on which metro areas to restart robotaxi operations has yet to be made. 

  Meanwhile, crowds in downtown San Fran destroyed a Waymo self-driving car earlier this month. 

  BREAKING: An autonomous Waymo vehicle is intentionally set on fire in Chinatown, according to SF Fire. Firefighters said they got reports around 10 people were involved.

  Waymo said “a crowd surrounded and vandalized the vehicle, breaking the window and throwing a firework … pic.twitter.com/6QN2jTppRu

  — Gia Vang (@Gia_Vang) February 11, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  This comes after several attacks on self-driving cars in the metro area. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 21:20

• A Venezuelan Explains How (And Why) Criminal Migrants Get To The US
  A Venezuelan Explains How (And Why) Criminal Migrants Get To The US

  Authored by Daniela Gonzalez via The Organic Prepper blog,

  With the last recent events at the US border and the approach of the authorities’ response (not the ones of the States being affected, but the highest ones), anyone with some degree of common sense would start to ask questions.

  How are migrants from Venezuela getting from their country to the US border? Are they walking? if so, how long does it take and how are they equipped for it? If not, how are they getting there? Are they criminals? Are they crossing other borders legally? Is someone funding this?

  

  As a Venezuelan, I hope to answer some of these questions for you.

  How do Venezuelans travel to the southern US border?

  You may already be aware of the dangerous Darien jungle crossing. It’s a remote area in Panama with no road through it. There is no way to know how many people have perished there. People die not only because the jungle is already a very dangerous place for the untrained. It’s the gangs taking advantage of whomever they find. There are enough horror stories in the media to traumatize anyone for life.

  Just as general information: previous to this nightmare of a walk, there were enough borders to cross that is not so easy to go through, even for a regular citizen. However, for some reason, hordes of people carrying suitcases and all sorts of bags just walk through. There are eight (yes, EIGHT) countries to cross by foot to reach the Southern Border of the US. How someone without money can do it, is an unnerving question.

  And a much more unnerving one is how criminals do it.

  The first leg is over 500 miles (+800km) from Caracas, Venezuela to Cucuta, Colombia. This leg is relatively easy because it is a very beaten path with plenty of bus services.

  From Cucuta, the next leg is going to Necocli, Colombia, covering a similar distance. This is a coastal town. They can reach from there to several points at the coastline. From there, the crossing is by foot until the Southern Border through Panama, Honduras, and Mexico.

  This is one of the paths they follow, like many migrants trying to cross.

  The story of this handicapped migrant is something different. He and his family spent $7000 on the whole journey. How someone decides to use that amount of money to cross one of the most dangerous areas in South America is beyond my common sense.

  That money could get someone a small hacienda to live in and have basic needs covered, including a vehicle.

  The journey is incredibly dangerous for many reasons.

  Another example I cannot understand is the one depicted by this Army defector and his family. Their gear consisted of a camping tent, boots, repellant, and $5000, a product for the sale of their belongings. I haven’t seen that wad of cash that size in my whole life, to be honest. Mentioning the wife that if the bandits kidnap their child, she will be very likely missing, and can’t avoid her being assaulted…

  Really? Who is willing to take that risk?

  Sure, coming back means a certain death in the regime’s dungeons, but at least Colombia or some other neighboring country offered that couple some sort of stability.

  Other people travel with camping stoves and some small light gas canisters. Canned goods, pasta, and rice are usual staples, too. No bottled water because it’s heavy. Most people drink from the rivers. There are no such things as filtering devices, and I haven’t heard of anyone boiling water.

  It is terrifying to read things like the plans of people willing to spend the night at the foot of the most dangerous mountain to climb…only to discover that the stench of the rotting bodies was too much to stay there for too long. That’s a nightmare-like situation.

  I wasn’t going to write about the HIV-infected gangs, but I reconsidered it to tell the whole entire story. (Warning! the link contains references to sexual violence)

  The readers must understand human behavior when there are no consequences or law enforcement forces nearby. And this is the XXI Century. Extrapolate that behavior pattern of a crumbled society, and it can (it DID happen) arise wherever. One more reason to arm everyone to the teeth, if you ask me.

  Going through that with a small child…thanks, but no thanks. Putting the family’s safety in the hands of strangers? Too much to lose. I find it hard to justify someone with that amount of money to migrate that way.

  You can appreciate in the pictures of this article how some people walk even in slippers. With small children, leaving the country through the illegal trochas. Being robbed, harassed, and sometimes even killed.

  Though many are, please do note that not every person coming from Venezuela is a criminal.

  But every person is desperate.

  The people doing this are causing problems in your country.

  I see a pattern here: the unreasonably high murder rate increasing and the violent crimes and home invasions that are happening now in the US, in areas traditionally considered low-crime zones.

  It is incredible to see this kind of turmoil in a refugee shelter: Illegals attacking officers to avoid an arrest.

  And when you realize a pattern like they mention in this article, informing that two cities of the American continent are invaded by the same gang at the same time, is reasonable to start questioning what can be happening.

  At the end of this article, there is one of the most significant phrases: ” (…) given the tense relationships between the US and Venezuela…”

  How are criminals that should be in Venezuelan prison going to America?

  For those of us born in the 80s, the name “Mariel” doesn’t say much. But after a little research, we find out that there is yet another cycle repeating itself: criminals entering massively to the US from a country deeply linked to Eastern foreign powers and with close ties to rogue nations.

  If a regular citizen finds difficulties in leaving the country legally through a border (confiscation of little green thingies that uniforms love, for instance), it is hard to understand how criminals that were supposedly in jail in Venezuela end up appearing in places as far as Miami. 

  My thoughts?

  There are two methods a criminal could bypass the safety measures in a border. One, they are impersonating some of their victims of former crimes with stolen IDs.

  As sinister as it sounds, finding someone resembling them and using their IDs to get out of Dodge, mixing up with the crowd crossing is not that hard these days. People disappear in Venezuela regularly without any trace. Leaving a few dead doppelgangers behind and taking their IDs shouldn’t be that hard for someone with the scruples to do.

  The migration authorities usually don’t have the means to verify fingerprints in these small border towns, and they issue temporary residence or transit-only permits, knowing that they leave the border soon and won’t stay being a nuisance. On the other hand, there is another option to ponder. If the intention of sending criminals is seriously adopted by any government holding a grip on their ID system, it would not be a problem to re-issue a new identity document with a new name, keeping the same fingerprints and any other biometric data. You have had an article about this on your website before.

  Who is behind all this?

  The next questions are surely what is in the minds of everyone reading this. Is somebody paying for all this? Or organizing it? And if so, why?

  To determine the answer, historical data has to be reviewed. This is not anything new and there is already a precedent that many politicians have tried to sweep under the rug: Castro’s threat of the “Plan Bravo” in the middle 1990s. After all, he already had sent close to 8000 convicts camouflaged as “immigrants” at the beginning of the 1980s.

  This news seems to be forgotten now: Venezuelan passports were being sold at the embassy in Iraq (there is an English version in this link) and the much more recent detention of Jihad members in Argentina.

  I have seen plenty of videos with interviews of people traveling to the US by foot. I have noticed this: most of them are healthy young men in their 20s and physically fit. Not all of them are going to the shelters to avoid being screened by the migration authorities. On the contrary, very possibly they are lying low and integrating into some sort of network already in place.

  In one of those interviews, the man commented something that has been in my head ever since. “The US is going to be very different soon”.

  Whether he’s a psychic with a crystal ball, or he attended some type of briefing and he’s on a mission. The impact of so many people roaming on the streets may not look too much. But what will happen when (not “if,” but WHEN) the sleepers attend the call to generate turmoil on a country-wide scale?

  Sure, many of you will say, “That’s why we have our 2nd Amendment”.

  Trust me, you will hardly find someone to shoot at. They won’t engage in direct conflict. Albeit I’m not a military analyst by any means, their target is very likely infrastructure and psyops on the society. Be very vigilant of water reservoirs.

  Violent crime, increasing in number and frequency, could start overnight now.

  Do you remember the recent 2019 turmoils in Chile? All of it was organized and executed by the leftist wing. These migrants from countries with regimes that are hostile towards the US should be carefully screened. The consequences could be very high in the near future.

  More resources

  Some additional information can be found in the following links:

  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/07/11/theyre-castros-convicts/8cbead9b-407b-41a8-aa7e-9985373430dc/
  • https://www.infobae.com/venezuela/2023/07/13/el-revelador-estudio-de-la-evolucion-y-crecimiento-de-los-grupos-armados-hibridos-bajo-el-regimen-de-nicolas-maduro/
  • https://insightcrime.org/es/investigaciones/tren-de-aragua-queda-sin-cuartel-venezuela/
  • https://www.corteidh.or.cr/tablas/r31691.pdf
  • https://transparenciave.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/03-Crimen-organizado-y-corrupcion-en-Venezuela.pdf
  • https://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2019/09/18/maduro-criminales-venezuela/
  • https://panampost.com/efe-panampost/2024/02/14/eeuu-liberar-a-miles-de-inmigrantes/
  • https://transparenciave.org/agentes-criminales-redes-e-interacciones-oscuras/

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 20:55

• AT&T Reveals Cause Of Major Outage, Not Caused By Cyberattack
  AT&T Reveals Cause Of Major Outage, Not Caused By Cyberattack

  By Jack Phillips of Epoch Times

  AT&T said Friday that the 12-hour-long outage to its U.S. cellphone network Thursday didn’t appear to be caused by a cyberattack, blaming it on an “incorrect process.”

  On Thursday, numerous customers reported that AT&T and Cricket, its subsidiary, were down for hours. Some 75,000 customers reported to DownDetector.com they were without cellphone service, texting, or internet access across the country, although that number is likely quite higher.

  “Based on our initial review, we believe that today’s outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network, not a cyber attack,” AT&T said in a statement Friday.

  The company did not reveal the exact cause of the service disruption. The firm said Thursday that the disruption was fixed.

  Amid the outage, iPhone users with AT&T saw an “SOS” message and were told that they could only make emergency or Wi-Fi calls. Android users saw a similar message that they could only make emergency calls.

  But some local police and sheriff’s departments wrote on social media that some AT&T users were not able to make 911 calls, while some law enforcement officials, who were AT&T customers too, couldn’t use their devices.

  The Federal Communications Commission contacted the FBI and other agencies about the outage, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday. The FBI said it communicated with AT&T, saying in a statement that “should we learn of any malicious activity we will respond accordingly.”

  Before the outage was resolved, AT&T urged customers to connect to Wi-Fi to use their phones. Wi-Fi calling is a built-in feature on most Android devices and iPhones and can be turned on under the phone’s settings.

  “Some of our customers are experiencing wireless service interruptions this morning. We are working urgently to restore service to them. We encourage the use of Wi-Fi calling until service is restored,” AT&T said in a statement.

  If Wi-Fi isn’t available, there are few options for cell phone users. It’s possible to switch services if a phone is unlocked, but that requires signing up online and porting your phone number. Some apps, including Google Maps, have limited service offline. Payment apps also do not use a phone’s cell service to work and should also be useable.

  Politicians in Washington also raised the alarm after the outage caught their attention.

  “We are working to assess today’s disruption in order to gain a complete understanding of what went wrong and what can be done to prevent future incidents like this from occurring,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) said in a statement.

  Meanwhile, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) warned that if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) executes a cyberattack in the future, it would cause far more devastating consequences for Americans.

  In a post on X, Mr. Rubio, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote that “it will be 100 times worse when China launches a cyber attack on America on the eve of a Taiwan invasion.”

  “And it won’t be just cell service they hit, it will be your power, your water, and your bank,” he said, adding that he doesn’t know the cause of the outage.

  Federal officials in recent years have increasingly ramped out warnings about the CCP’s capabilities, saying that groups associated with the regime are carrying out cyberattacks constantly.

  “China-sponsored hackers pre-positioned for potential cyberattacks against U.S. oil and natural gas companies way back in 2011, but these days, it’s reached something closer to a fever pitch,” said FBI Director Chris Wray earlier this year. “What we’re seeing now is China’s increasing build-out of offensive weapons within our critical infrastructure, poised to attack whenever Beijing decides the time is right.”

  More in the original report available at The Epoch Times

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 20:30

• New York Jury Finds NRA Head Wayne Pierre Liable, Must Pay $4.3 Million in Damages
  New York Jury Finds NRA Head Wayne Pierre Liable, Must Pay $4.3 Million in Damages

  By Caden Pearson of Epoch Times

  

  A New York jury found National Rifle Association (NRA) boss Wayne LaPierre liable in a civil case on Friday, ordering him to pay $4.3 million in damages for the mismanagement and misuse of charitable funds.

  The verdict concludes a trial in the civil lawsuit brought by the Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York, accusing Mr. LaPierre of questionable financial practices during his tenure from 2014 to 2022.

  The jury found that Mr. LaPierre violated his fiduciary duties, causing $5.4 million in damages to the NRA.

  Notably, they recognized that he had repaid just over $1 million to the charity, which reduced the net damages.

  In addition to the financial penalty, the jury determined that Mr. LaPierre should be removed from his position as executive vice president of the gun rights group.

  The Manhattan jury found that Mr. LaPierre had misused millions of dollars from the organization’s funds to make personal luxury purchases over a span of 30 years.

  The jury did not find Mr. LaPierre liable for breaking laws against self-dealing regarding a post-employment contract with the NRA, valued at over $17 million. They found that the arrangement had been properly approved in advance by the NRA board.

  Despite Mr. LaPierre’s recent resignation, the judge will now decide whether to permanently bar him from any future leadership roles within the NRA in an upcoming bench trial.

  Jury deliberations in the case began on Feb. 16.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 20:13

• Have We Passed The Peak Of The Smartphone Era?
  Have We Passed The Peak Of The Smartphone Era?

  Despite the ongoing transition to 5G, which has thrown a lifeline to smartphone manufacturers struggling to keep up growth in the maturing smartphone market, global smartphone shipments dropped to the lowest level in a decade last year.

  As Statista’s Felix Richter reports, according to estimates from IDC, smartphone vendors shipped 1.17 billion devices last year, down more than 20 percent from 2016, when smartphone shipments peaked at 1.47 billion units.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  While many experts think that “peak smartphone” is already behind us, market research group IDC remains hopeful for the industry to return to growth in 2024 and beyond.

  “The tide has finally turned and it feels safe to say the worst is behind us,” Nabila Popal, research director at IDC, said in November 2023.

  “As we enter the new era of low single-digit growth and lengthened refresh cycles, it is clear the market is maturing. While the total available market will remain below pre-pandemic shipment levels throughout the forecast, the bright side is that average selling prices and market value will remain notably higher than before.”

  Still, what does that matter – wait for the wave of AI phones (whatever that means)…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 19:40

• Victor Davis Hanson: Blue Laws For Red Citizens
  Victor Davis Hanson: Blue Laws For Red Citizens

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson,

  One state prosecutor and one civilian plaintiff have already won huge fines and damages from Donald Trump that may, with legal costs, exceed $500 million.

  

  Trump awaits further civil and criminal liability in three other federal, state, and local indictments.

  There are eerie commonalities in all these five court cases involving plaintiff E. Jean Carroll, Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, New York Attorney General Letitia James, federal special counsel Jack Smith, and Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis.

  One, they are either unapologetically left-wing or associated with liberal causes.

  They filed their legal writs in big-city, left-wing America—Atlanta, New York, Washington—where liberal judges and jury pools predominate in a manner not characteristic of the country at large.

  Two, they are overtly political.

  Bragg, James, and Willis have either campaigned for office or raised campaign funds by promising to get or even destroy Donald Trump.

  Carroll’s suit was funded by left-wing billionaire Reid Hoffman.

  Smith sued to rush his court schedule in hopes of putting Trump on trial before the November election.

  Three, there would not be any of these cases had Donald Trump not run for the presidency or not been a conservative.

  Carroll’s suit bypassed statute of limitation restrictions by prompting the intervention of a left-wing New York legislator. He passed a special bill, allowing a one-year window to waive the statute of limitations for sexual assault claims from decades past.

  Until Trump, no New York prosecutor like James had ever filed a civil suit against a business for allegedly overvaluing real estate assets to obtain loans that bank auditors approved and were paid back in full, on time, and with sizable interest profits to the lending institutions.

  Alvin Bragg bootstrapped a Trump private non-disclosure agreement into a federal campaign violation in a desperate effort to find something on Trump.

  Smith is also charging Trump with insurrectionary activity. But Trump had never been so charged with insurrection, much less convicted of it.

  Willis strained to find a way to criminalize Trump’s complaints about his loss of Georgia in the 2020 national election. She finally came up with a racketeering charge, usually more applicable to mafiosi and drug cartels.

  Four, in all these cases, the charges could have been equally applicable to fellow left-wing public figures and officials.

  Joe Biden, like Trump, was accused of sexual assault decades earlier by former staffer Tara Reade. Yet Reade was torn apart by the media and the left for inconsistencies in her memory. By contrast, the wildly inconsistent and amnesiac E. Jean Carroll won $83 million from Trump.

  Jack Smith created the precedent of charging former president Trump for unlawfully removing classified files to his private residence.

  But the government simultaneously did not charge Joe Biden for similar offenses. Yet Biden had removed files not for two years but for more than 30. He stored them not in one location but several.

  His rickety garage was a mess, not a secure family compound like Trump’s estate. Moreover, Biden did so while a senator and vice president, without any presidential authority to declassify almost any presidential document he wished.

  Biden never came forward to report the crime for over thirty years—until Trump was charged. Indeed, he was caught on tape six years ago, admitting to his ghostwriter that he possessed classified files but never reported it.

  Bragg might have noticed that both Hillary Clinton (fined $113,000) and Barack Obama (fined $350,000) broke campaign financing laws. Neither was subject to federal criminal charges by local prosecutors.

  An array of left-wing celebrities, politicians, 2004 House Members, former Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams have all recently challenged elections. They sought either to delay or redo ballot counting or, on the federal level, to sidetrack electors to ignore popular votes in their respective states.

  These lawfare cases are part of other efforts that were highly partisan and without merit. Recall the Trump “Russian collusion” hoax and the “Russian disinformation” laptop farce.

  In another first, some blue states are suing to take Trump’s name off the ballot for “insurrection,” a crime for which he has never been charged.

  Total up the deaths, damage, and length of the summer 2020 Antifa/BLM riots. Then compare the tally to the one-day January 6 riot.

  The former proved far more lethal, long-lasting, and destructive. Yet very few of the 14,000 arrested rioters in 2020 were ever prosecuted, much less convicted.

  By contrast, the Biden administration sought to jail hundreds for crimes allegedly committed on January 6, such as “illegal parading.”

  We are entering a dangerous era in America.

  Ideology and party affiliations increasingly determine guilt and punishment. Opponents are first targeted, and then laws are twisted and redefined to convict them.

  The left is waging lawfare with the implicit message to silence political opponents: either keep quiet or suffer the consequences.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 19:15

• Is This How Skynet Begins? Bezos, Nvidia Join OpenAI In Funding Humanoid Robotics Firm
  Is This How Skynet Begins? Bezos, Nvidia Join OpenAI In Funding Humanoid Robotics Firm

  A startup focused on developing general-purpose humanoids has attracted investments from Jeff Bezos, Nvidia Corp., and other major tech companies in its most recent funding round amid the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence bubble. 

  People familiar with the investing round told Bloomberg that Figure AI – backed by OpenAI and Microsoft Corp – is raising $675 million, with a pre-money valuation of approximately $2 billion. They said Bezo’s firm, Explore Investments LLC, has committed $100 million. Microsoft has committed $95 million, while Nvidia and Amazon plan $50 million each. 

  The funding round is not yet complete, and the amounts could change, with the possibility that the deals could still fall apart. 

  Figure’s AI-powered robot appears very similar in design to the Terminator assassin robot in the early 1990s film “Terminator.”  

  

  Recall the Terminator robot. 

  Let’s hope this Terminator-like robot is not trained on a woke-tuned model like Gemini – now that would be a disaster for humankind. 

  Is it using Gemini to “think”? https://t.co/gSaTN9Os59

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Watch the humanoid, called “Figure 01,” make a cup of coffee. The startup posted on X:

  Figure 01 has learned to make coffee.

  End-to-end AI system, trained in 10 hours, just by watching humans make coffee.

  Our neural networks are taking video in, trajectories out

  Figure 01 has learned to make coffee ☕️

  End-to-end AI system, trained in 10 hours, just by watching humans make coffee

  Our neural networks are taking video in, trajectories out

  Join us to ship a fleet of AI robots: https://t.co/7fGEbRbeol pic.twitter.com/DNAZWnaqUv

  — Figure (@Figure_robot) January 7, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  According to Figure’s website, developing general-purpose humanoids aims to “make a positive impact on humanity and create a better life for future generations” by “eliminating the need for unsafe and undesirable jobs — ultimately allowing us to live happier, more purposeful lives.” 

  As we’ve previewed to premium subs, Goldman believes AI could trigger 300 million layoffs through this decade. 

  

  The working poor have nothing to worry about because when robots displace their jobs, governments will begin helicopter-dropping monthly stimmy checks (remember all the free money during Covid) in the form of universal basic income (socialism). 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 18:50

• States Must Act Now To Save Rural Lives From Fentanyl Crisis
  States Must Act Now To Save Rural Lives From Fentanyl Crisis

  Authored by Heidi Heitkamp via RealClear Wire,

  Across rural America, the expanding crisis of fentanyl-fueled overdoses is ravaging a generation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl deaths in the U.S. have tripled since 2016, and initial data from 2022 indicates that synthetic opioids cause about 90% of all opioid overdose deaths – which translates to nearly 75,000 Americans killed in that year alone. Rural communities, where hundreds of hospitals have already closed and more are on the chopping block, are bearing the additional weight of overdoses. We need states to do more to protect Americans and ensure access to all overdose reversal agents that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

  

  According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Hidden in counterfeit prescription pharmaceuticals like Adderall, Xanax, and Oxycontin, it’s so lethal that just two milligrams, the size of a pencil tip, can kill. 

  One of the most devastating aspects of synthetic opioids is that they may stay in the system longer than legacy overdose agents used to try and save lives. That means multiple doses of reversal agents are required, if first responders even have them on hand.

  The flood of fentanyl coming into our country is overwhelming. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security’s 2024 Threat Assessment states that illegal drugs produced in Mexico and sold in the United States will continue to kill more Americans than any other threat. Fentanyl has even been called a weapon of mass destruction by frontline leaders in U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy, the Postal Service, Homeland Security, and public health.

  Without access to the most effective resources, more Americans will die unnecessarily from fentanyl – even as new FDA-approved medicines to save lives become available. We need to address the sources of these dangerous substances, but also equip communities to respond. Unfortunately, on both fronts, we have come up short.

  During my time as North Dakota’s attorney general, I led North Dakota’s efforts to combat the growing use of illegal drugs in our state. A vigorous effort to stop the illegal importation and sale of dangerous drugs is critically important. However, it is equally important to curtail the demand. Legal and diverse products that assist individuals in “kicking the habit” and assist first responders in saving lives must be part of any comprehensive strategy to solve America’s illegal drug problem.

  From my time representing North Dakota in the United States Senate to today, combating opioid abuse has always been a priority for me.  

  I’m proud that North Dakota has already made every tool in the opioid overdose toolkit available, including overdose reversal products specifically indicated for synthetic opioids. What most people don’t know is that each state is required to issue its own individual policy or standing order to ensure first responders are able to access and administer FDA-approved reversal agents for opioid overdoses. That’s why every state in the union must act today.

  With fentanyl responsible for over 150 deaths every day in the United States, we are facing a healthcare reckoning. There is literally no time to lose. Such a crisis demands a whole-of-government response, from local leaders to federal agencies.

  We must ensure access to every innovation, including overdose rescue agents already approved by the FDA and specifically indicated for synthetic opioids. These resources are desperately needed, particularly in rural and remote communities without reliable healthcare infrastructure. Unfortunately, in many parts of our country, these lifesaving agents are not reaching enough first responders and frontline workers, including police officers, firefighters, personnel on college campuses, and emergency healthcare providers in rural areas.

  We must act now to ensure that every state expands access to all FDA-approved overdose rescue agents and save American lives.

  Heidi Heitkamp has served as North Dakota’s tax commissioner, attorney general, and U.S. senator. She was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from North Dakota.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 18:25

• Apparel Retailer Express Moving Toward Bankruptcy
  Apparel Retailer Express Moving Toward Bankruptcy

  During the company’s last earnings call in November, recently appointed CEO Stewart Glendinning acknowledged the company made some missteps: Among other factors, there was a misalignment between its assortment and customer demand, Retail Dive‘s Nate Delesline reports.

  

  Express took a hit during the pandemic as its core offering — business casual — fell out of favor as work-from-home surged.

  “Unfortunately, my previous assessment of Express’ fragile financial situation leading to a possible bankruptcy due to declining revenue, gross margin profits and ballooning debt of $280 million is a foregone conclusion,” Shawn Grain Carter, a retail industry consultant and professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology at the State University, said in an email to Retail Dive. “With high-interest rates, the retail company must decide between the ‘lesser of two evils.’ Moreover, until they fix the waning consumer demand for their merchandise and elevate the brand and product mix, financial wizardry will not resolve their retail woes.”

  Over the past several years, the company has undergone a number of changes as it works to improve its performance. Last January, WHP Global closed on a strategic partnership with Express. The two entities formed an intellectual property joint venture under which WHP contributed $235 million for a 60% stake, while Express retained the remaining 40%. The two entities in November announced plans to expand Express internationally, including in Indonesia and Paraguay, and grow its presence in Central America and Mexico. 

  And after the New York Stock Exchange warned of a potential delisting in late March, Express executed a 1-for-20 reverse stock split, which decreased outstanding shares to 3.7 million from 74.9 million. That stock split enabled Express to regain listing compliance with the New York Stock Exchange. Around the same time, Express said it planned to cut 150 jobs by the end of the third quarter.

  The company also expanded its portfolio last year through a deal with WHP to acquire Bonobos from Walmart for $75 million. That acquisition helped guide the retailer to a 5% year-over-year uptick in Q3 net sales to $454.1 million from $434.1 million a year earlier. However, comparable sales for Express stores and e-commerce fell 4% and net loss grew to $36.8 million from $34.4 million in the year-ago period. Inventory was also up 14% for the quarter, rising to nearly $481 million from $422.7 million a year earlier. 

  “Express has the right building blocks in place with a strong portfolio of brands, a high-potential partnership with WHP and a premier omnichannel platform,” Glendinning said in the earnings announcement. “Our efforts to unlock our full potential and improve our performance are already underway.”

  The apparel retailer in late November lowered its full-year 2023 guidance, now expecting net sales to be between $1.84 billion and $1.87 billion, with Bonobos driving $150 million in net sales. 

  Finally, on Friday, Bloomberg reported that at least one lender to Express has approached the retailer to put aside a pool of money for expenses tied to a potential future bankruptcy filing.

  A demand to set aside so-called cash reserves, if enforced, could push Express into Chapter 11 as it would eat into limited liquidity available for necessary payments to vendors, landlords and other parties.

  Creditors have been growing increasingly antsy and considering whether to push the company to file for bankruptcy, Bloomberg previously reported.

  Express, which is burning through a short supply of cash as it attempts to fix troubled operations, is looking to avoid any move to fund reserves for as long as possible, other people familiar with the matter said. The retailer lost over $150 million in three quarters through late October as it faced an escalating competitive threat from fast-fashion rivals.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 18:00

• NORAD Fighter Jets Intercept High-Altitude Balloon Over Utah
  NORAD Fighter Jets Intercept High-Altitude Balloon Over Utah

  Update (1747ET) 

  CBS News reports NORAD fighter jets intercepted a “small balloon” over “Utah at an altitude of 43,000 to 45,000 feet” earlier today. 

  An official told the media outlet that the balloon’s payload was not considered a national security threat. 

  NORAD confirms intercepting balloon. Fighters caught up with it over Utah between 43-45k feet. Deemed not a threat to air traffic.
  Source describes the payload as ~2 foot cube under a Mylar balloon. Continues to move east fast thanks to a strong jet stream. NORAD statement: https://t.co/WKZExWRyKs pic.twitter.com/wgBsPONdEC

  — Kris Van Cleave (@krisvancleave) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Nothing to see here… 

  Utah – Home of the Utah Test and Training Range – “host to a variety of training and testing missions for the USAF, Army and Marine Corps. The site is frequently used for the disposal of explosive ordnance, testing of experimental military equipment, as well as ground and air… https://t.co/1B8hWF2sZu

  — US Oil & Gas Association (@US_OGA) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  *   *   * 

  One year after a Chinese spy balloon drifted over the continental US for several days and was blown apart off the coast of South Carolina with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile by a fifth-generation fighter jet, a new report from CBS News indicates the US military is tracking a high-altitude balloon flying over the Western part of the country. 

  Sources familiar with the matter said the balloon was drifting towards the eastern part of the country on Friday. The balloon was over Colorado earlier in the day.

  🚨#BREAKING: A U.S. Military aircraft is tracking a unidentified high-altitude balloon flying over the Western part of the United States

  📌#UnitedStates | #USA

  Currently, a U.S. military aircraft is tracking an unidentified high-altitude balloon flying over the western part of… pic.twitter.com/7qelsYbVhE

  — R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  This has so far led the military to dispatch reconnaissance aircraft to investigate. There is no word on the balloon’s origin. 

  🚨 #BREAKING: The US government is reported to be tracking a “high altitude balloon” that was spotted by military planes, and is currently flying over Colorado.

  Are we really doing this AGAIN?

  They have not disclosed the origin or purpose of the balloon, but this is ODDLY… pic.twitter.com/TzuHeydTZS

  — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  On Feb. 4, 2023, a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina. The balloon drifted over the US for days, becoming a major headache for President Biden, who faced criticism from Republicans for allowing it to float across the country. 

  Looking at Bloomberg data, the number of “spy balloon” mentions in corporate media headlines erupted in early February last year. It was a media frenzy, and Americans were fixated on one thing for weeks: a Chinese spy balloon. 

  

  Is this another distraction?

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 17:47

• Rise In Mail-In-Voting: A Convenience Or Pathway To Fraud?
  Rise In Mail-In-Voting: A Convenience Or Pathway To Fraud?

  Authored by Kevin Stocklin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  As states gear up for highly consequential elections this fall, one of the most critical factors in the United States is the rise of mass mail-in voting.

  

  According to the Census Bureau, 43 percent of American voters cast ballots by mail in 2020, double the 21 percent who did so in 2016.

  While 2020 was an exceptional year because of the government’s response to the COVID-19 virus, the United States is nonetheless experiencing a longer-term transition to an absentee ballot system from an in-person system. Currently, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia have “mostly mail voting” systems, according to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

  And while the 2020 election saw record levels of voter turnout, the shift away from traditional voting methods also coincides with a decline in trust in America’s electoral system. An October 2023 poll by the Public Affairs Council, found that only 37 percent of Americans believe the 2024 elections will be both “honest and open,” while 43 percent expressed “serious doubts” about election integrity.

  This loss of trust raises the question of whether the problem stems from losing candidates charging that the elections were stolen from them, or from America transitioning to a system that prioritizes convenience from one that prioritized integrity.

  Many pundits claim there is no tradeoff between the two and government officials, notably the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, called the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.”

  However, a large number of Americans, particularly Republican and Independent voters, remain unconvinced.

  The NCSL cautions that “if a voter is marking a ballot at home, and not in the presence of election officials, there may be more opportunity for coercion by family members or others.”

  According to a recent NCSL study, 28 states, including the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, currently offer “no-excuse” absentee voting, which means that any voter can request and cast an absentee ballot without offering a reason.

  In addition, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., automatically mail absentee ballots to all voters.

  In the remaining 15 states, voters must provide an acceptable excuse (such as illness or disability, or being overseas on Election Day) to qualify for an absentee ballot.

  The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that keeps a running tally of proven cases of voter fraud, has documented more than 1,500 cases to date and 1,276 criminal convictions.

  “Each and every one of the cases in this database represents an instance in which a public official, usually a prosecutor, thought it serious enough to act upon it,” the report states. “And each and every one ended in a finding that the individual had engaged in wrongdoing in connection with an election hoping to affect its outcome—or that the results of an election were sufficiently in question and had to be overturned.”

  

  According to Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, the numbers cited in the report are probably an understatement.

  “The thing about these 1,500 cases is that they’re clearly just the tip of the iceberg because fraud is very hard to detect,” he told The Epoch Times. “A lot of times it’s just found by accident, particularly in a state like New York or California where there’s no voter ID requirement at all.”

  Many of these cases cited in the report involved the fraudulent use of absentee ballots. In the case of one Michigan resident who was convicted of voter fraud, “an employee at an assisted living facility, completed roughly two dozen absentee voter applications, forging individual signatures of residents.”

  However, the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice, an affiliate of New York University, criticized what it said was the “myth of voter fraud.”

  “Politicians at all levels of government have repeatedly, and falsely, claimed the 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections were marred by large numbers of people voting illegally,” the institute said in a report. “However, extensive research reveals that fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent, and many instances of alleged fraud are, in fact, mistakes by voters or administrators.

  “The same is true for mail ballots, which are secure and essential to holding a safe election amid the coronavirus pandemic,” its report states.

  In the manic weeks following the 2020 election, data analytics expert Ken Block, president of Simpatico Software Systems, was hired by the Trump campaign to data-mine for voter fraud in the key states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and find “factual, hard evidence that can underpin successful legal challenges.”

  “It started with assessing the deceased voters and duplicate voters,” Mr. Block told The Epoch Times. “We looked at every single mail-in ballot cast in the swing states, looking for deceased voters.

  ”We found, in terms of actual deceased voters that we could confirm through data, a couple of dozen.”

  Mr. Block said he found a small number of people who voted twice, typically wealthy individuals who had two residences, but the cases of detected fraud were not nearly enough to sway the election. He was also asked by the Trump campaign to investigate various “hearsay claims” of voter fraud.

  “We looked at every single voter fraud claim, and I was able to show with evidence and proof why it was flawed, or just completely wrong in the first place, and those findings were accepted by [President Trump’s] lawyers,” he said. “I think it’s crucially important that everybody understands how hard we looked and how important it was, from a legal standpoint, that the claims of fraud that I evaluated were looked at as hard, if not harder than the defense attorneys who would be fending off these lawsuits.”

  And yet, despite all efforts to assure the public that elections are sound, many Americans continue to suspect that something is amiss.

  

  While some instances of voter fraud may be detectable in data and audits, others, such as whether voters are noncitizens, or engaging in ballot harvesting, or illicitly filling out ballots on behalf of others, are more difficult to detect unless witnessed in person or caught on camera.

  A particular issue with mail-in ballots is the proliferation of ballot drop-off boxes since 2020, few of which are monitored.

  According to Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of The Federalist, and others who analyzed the 2020 election, the funding and locations of many ballot drop boxes in 2020 was directed by an organization called the Center for Tech and Civic Life, backed by hundreds of millions of dollars from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

  Ms. Hemingway argued in her book, “Rigged,” that the donations from Mr. Zuckerberg, called “Zuck Bucks,” were partisan and focused on swing states.

  The influence of private money in state electoral systems has only heightened the suspicions of many Americans.

  A 2021 report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Election Lab states that “even many scholars who argue that fraud is generally rare agree that fraud with VBM [vote-by-mail] voting seems to be more frequent than with in-person voting.

  “There are two major features of VBM that raise these concerns,” the report states. “First, the ballot is cast outside the public eye, and thus the opportunities for coercion and voter impersonation are greater.

  “Second, the transmission path for VBM ballots is not as secure as traditional in-person ballots. These concerns relate both to ballots being intercepted and ballots being requested without the voter’s permission.”

  The report cites, among others, the case of a campaign manager in a North Carolina congressional race who collected empty mail-in ballots and then filled them in for his own candidate. Ultimately, that led to the election being overturned.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 17:40

• GOP Lawmaker Demands Congress Must "Take Action" Against NGOs Facilitating Border Invasion
  GOP Lawmaker Demands Congress Must “Take Action” Against NGOs Facilitating Border Invasion

  Many migrants arriving in major metro areas like New York City or smaller towns throughout the US do so through assistance from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including charities and faith-based nonprofits that taxpayers fund.

  Last month, journalist James O’Keefe uncovered a “shadowy network of secretive nonprofits” (some of which are funded by taxpayers) that are facilitating the invasion of illegals on the southern border.

  Now GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin is on X, pointing out the role of NGOs in facilitating the border invasion. He shared a video of what appears to be NGOs smuggling migrants over the southern border and, in doing so, breaking federal immigration laws: 

  NGOs AIDING ILLEGALS: Green Valley-Sahuarita and Tucson Samaritans HOLD OPEN a hole in the border wall for illegals to come through.

  Then they drive the illegals to an encampment in the Coronado National Forest.

  Title 8, USC 1324(a) makes it an offense for any person who encourages or brings an alien into the US. 

  Congress must take action and investigate these NGOs.

  NGOs AIDING ILLEGALS: Green Valley-Sahuarita and Tucson Samaritans HOLD OPEN a hole in the border wall for illegals to come through.

  Then they drive the illegals to an encampment in the Coronado National Forest.

  Title 8, U.S.C. 1324(a) makes it an offense for any person who… pic.twitter.com/z9IjzQSpDB

  — Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) February 22, 2024

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  In a separate post, Tiffany showed images of what appears to be “illegal migrant encampment that these NGOs drive illegals to after helping them cross the border.”

  Here are pictures of the illegal migrant encampment that these NGOs drive illegals to after helping them cross the border.

  All on federal lands in the Coronado National Forest. pic.twitter.com/K2ZwBvno8i

  — Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) February 22, 2024

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  And this! 

  The Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans public Facebook group even has pictures of the camp up BRAGGING about aiding illegal immigration.

  I am sure the page won’t be public much longer. https://t.co/mITGlG6OEZ pic.twitter.com/cZeWaBaWnB

  — Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) February 22, 2024

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  “Our own government is aiding the NGOs!” one X user said. 

  Our own government is aiding the NGOs! pic.twitter.com/i8dORqtmN1

  — MonaKnows (@MonaKnows2) February 22, 2024

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  Another asked: “Why aren’t these NGOs being prosecuted?” 

  Why aren’t these NGOs being prosecuted?

  — Banana Republic Justice Swan 🍌 (@TheWuhanClan) February 23, 2024

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  NGOs are receiving big bucks from the federal government:

  According to Forbes, the NGO Catholic Charities USA received $1.4 billion from government support compared with $1 billion in private donations. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service reported more than $93.1 million in US government grants in its 2021 financial statement, making taxpayer-funded grants more than 80% of its total support. –NewsNation

  Tiffany is correct that Congress must investigate these shadowy networks of taxpayer-funded NGOs that have led to a stunning 10 million illegals invading this nation under President Biden’s first term. 

  

  One X user exclaimed: “I mean honestly, what the hell is going on with the US?” 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 17:20

• Once Valued At $5.7BN, Vice Media Stops Publishing And Nothing Of Value Was Lost
  Once Valued At $5.7BN, Vice Media Stops Publishing And Nothing Of Value Was Lost

  Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

  People are enjoying the demise of Vice Media, with many of them pointing out that literally nothing of value was lost.

  

  Having once been valued at $5.7 billion (in 2017), and acquired out of bankruptcy last year by a consortium including George Soros, the company announced plans to cut hundreds of jobs and has – as of 14 hours ago – stopped publishing on Vice.com.

  The VICE CMS has been turned off. That’s all folks.

  — jordan pearson (@neuwaves) February 22, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Chief executive Bruce Dixon said, “It is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously.”

  The once supposedly “edgy” media outlet has been ridiculed for years for allowing its output to descend into the most utterly demented, vulgar and degenerate far-left content.

  Respondents on X exploded with joy.

  However will we cope without such stories as ‘How I Rediscovered Sexual LIberation Through Fisting’, ‘How to Eat Out a Non-Op Trans Woman’ and ‘Most Child Sex Abusers Are Not Pedophiles, Expert Says’.

  RIP in peace, Vice https://t.co/8ODO6kzrYh pic.twitter.com/BtB6mYJXr0

  — pagliacci the hated 🌝 (@Slatzism) February 23, 2024

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  It really is such a devastating loss.

  https://t.co/5OER8PzTVw pic.twitter.com/c8JWkKF2cO

  — Foxford Comics (@FoxfordComics) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  How are we gonna know how to have sex with fat girls?

  We’ll miss you, Vice dot com.

  Actually, no we won’t. You were abysmal and everybody who ever contributed to your website deserves to be out of work forever. https://t.co/8T3e5A6gnu pic.twitter.com/Dslcufuhyo

  — RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) February 22, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Unfortunately the YouTube channel may stagger on for a while.

  I know it’s not the YouTube channel shutting down, but come on. Vice used to make good content and now it’s descended to this. Anyone could tell that Vice was on its last legs… https://t.co/Zfs3Oe6tuX pic.twitter.com/h0t7eKgOs2

  — Will 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@anglofuturist) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Vice previously asserted that “Twitter is dead,” but I just checked and it’s still doing just fine, unlike them.

  Hahaha pic.twitter.com/MPFd0YFzxf

  — ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) February 23, 2024

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  One of their last articles attacked Christian nationalists.

  The last article published on VICE before it shuts down.

  W Christian Nationalists. pic.twitter.com/2l3nCb14nw

  — Andrew Torba (@BasedTorba) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  One Vice journalist cried about wasting his life in the profession, but was told to “learn to code”.

  Learn to code pic.twitter.com/y4y4cg5ZRZ

  — Andrew Torba (@BasedTorba) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Tim Pool offered unemployed Vice writers a job.

  Any VICE reporters want a job?

  — Tim Pool (@Timcast) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Far-left progressive and regime media outlets are crumbling across the board.

  pic.twitter.com/oIYCKEtWKj

  — Tim Pool (@Timcast) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  It really is a sad day for journalists everywhere.

  https://t.co/ykMoX9nNO9 pic.twitter.com/YZp26tImdr

  — Jon Miller (@MillerStream) February 23, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  *  *  *

  Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 17:11

• Prosecution Of Far-Right But Not Antifa For Same Riots 'Constitutionally Impermissible': Judge
  Prosecution Of Far-Right But Not Antifa For Same Riots ‘Constitutionally Impermissible’: Judge

  Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A federal judge on Wednesday found that the “selective prosecution” of far-right groups without charging their far-left counterparts for the same acts is “constitutionally impermissible.”

  

  U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney of southern California therefore dismissed charges against two men from the “white nationalist” Rise Above Movement (RAM) who violently clashed with members of the far-left group Antifa at three southern California pro-Trump events in 2017.

  In his 35-page order, the judge stressed the importance of equal protection under the law. He said that although the two men may have been involved in violent acts, prosecutors were wrong to exclusively target them without also pursuing charges against Antifa members implicated in similar violent actions at political events.

  “Such selective prosecution leaves the troubling impression that the government believes speech on the left more deserving of protection than speech on the right,” Judge Carney wrote (pdf).

  The judge said that the fundamental principles of the First Amendment rights to free speech and to assemble are the “bedrock” of the United States. This is not always easy, he added, noting that sometimes, people use that right to “spread vitriolic and hateful ideas and beliefs.”

  “While Defendants openly promoted ideas the Court finds reprehensible, and likely committed violence for which they deserve to be prosecuted, this case is about something more important. It is about upholding the free speech and assembly rights guaranteed to all of us,” Judge Carney wrote.

  “It does not matter who you are or what you say. It does not matter whether you are a supporter of All Lives Matter or a supporter of Black Lives Matter,” he continued. “It does not matter whether you are a Zionist professor or part of Students for Justice in Palestine. It does not matter whether you are a member of RAM or Antifa. All are the same under the Constitution, and all receive its protections.”

  Anti-Riot Act Charges

  The alleged violence at the heart of the case happened during former President Donald Trump’s first year in the White House, during the four months spanning from March to June 2017.

  Prosecutors charged the two men, Robert Rundo, the founder of RAM, and Robert Boman, one of the group’s members, under a federal anti-riot statute in 2018.

  The men were accused of engaging in acts of violence at pro-Trump events in southern California, specifically in Huntington Beach, Berkeley, and San Bernardino.

  Judge Carney dismissed their charges in 2019 but following an appeal, the charges were reinstated in 2021.

  With the matter back in the district court, Mr. Rundo and Mr. Boman filed two motions to dismiss the case, arguing that the use of the Anti-Riot Act was unconstitutionally vague and that they were selectively prosecuted and not given equal treatment under the law.

  Judge Carney rejected the first motion, asserting that the alleged conduct of the men clearly falls within the scope of the Anti-Riot Act.

  “Though there may be questions in another case as to what constitutes a violation of the Anti-Riot Act, this is not that case,” he wrote. “Defendants clearly used a facility of interstate commerce shortly before they engaged in riotous activity as proscribed by the Anti-Riot Act.”

  

  However, the judge agreed with their second motion’s argument regarding selective prosecution and the violation of equal protection rights. He raised constitutional concerns about the government’s use of the Anti-Riot Act to prosecute the RAM members but not the Antifa members, who engaged in comparable violent acts.

  Mr. Rundo and Mr. Boman argued in their motion that the U.S. government targeted them for their speech and beliefs—and not Antifa and other far-left groups—in violation of their Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection and due process.

  The judge found that the defendants met the high bar of proving that their Fifth Amendment rights were violated.

  The left-leaning Anti-Defamation League, a self-described “anti-hate” organization, alleges that RAM is a “white supremacist group” made up of members who believe they’re fighting against a “modern world” that has become corrupted by “destructive cultural influences.” It says that RAM embraces a “conservative counterculture” that includes traditional Christian values, and they see themselves as “patriotic crusaders who are fighting against ‘communist’ forces.”

  ‘Constitutionally Impermissible’

  In his order, the judge noted that while the RAM members may have committed violence at political rallies with the intent to shut down the speech of far-left groups, they provided “considerable evidence” that Antifa did the same, “if not worse,” at those same events.

  “Members of Antifa and related far-left groups attended the political rallies and physically assaulted and injured innocent civilians, many of whom were supporters of President Trump and were peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights. Nonetheless, the government did not use the Anti-Riot Act to prosecute any members of Antifa or related far-left groups,” the judge wrote.

  The judge noted that Antifa and other far-left groups engaged in “worse conduct” than RAM members and even “instigated much of the violence” that broke out in order to silence the protected speech of Trump supporters. Yet, the government chose not to prosecute Antifa members for the same violent acts alleged against the defendants.

  “That is constitutionally impermissible,” Judge Carney wrote. “The government cannot prosecute RAM members such as Defendants while ignoring the violence of members of Antifa and related far-left groups because RAM engaged in what the government and many believe is more offensive speech.”

  In his order, the judge highlighted the complexity of protecting free speech, which some may not like during divisive times. He argued that the solution is not for the government to “single out and punish the speech that it and many in the country understandably find repugnant.”

  He referenced the historical legal perspective of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, who asserted nearly 100 years ago that combating dangerous speech requires “more speech, not enforced silence.”

  “The government remains free to prosecute those, like Defendants, who allegedly use violence to suppress First Amendment rights. But it cannot ignore others, equally culpable, because Defendants’ speech and beliefs are more offensive. The Constitution forbids such selective prosecution,” Judge Carney wrote.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 02/23/2024 – 17:00

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